substitutes for wine...?

[vmcd28]

OK, so I'm starting to miss wine. Anyone got anything that they enjoy as much?
I have been having Shloer in a wine glass, and actually, it is much more satisfying than in a normal glass!
Also, asda have a sparkling red grape drink which is just like fizzy red wine - much more like wine than the red grape Shloer.

Also, just for the record, Becks alcohol-free is pretty drinkable, if it's beer you're missing.
Any other non-alcoholic beer or wine is dreadful.

[withorwithoutyou]

No.

Nothing is as good as wine

[xMrsSx]

cake?

[5inthebed]

Kopparberg do a lovely alcohol free pear cider. It tastes exactly the same as the real deal. It is lovely and refreshing in this heat. They sell it in Ikea and I've seen it in Tesco as well.

I had some when I was pregnant with DS3 two years ago and missed a nice glass of rose in the summer.

[LittleMissSnowShine]

All the non alcoholic wines I've tried have been too sweet to really fool me into thinking I'm drinking real wine!!

Low Alcohol cider isn't a bad substitute, it's less than 1%, you can drink it with loads of ice to make it last ages, you can buy in Tesco/Sainsburys etc so it's easy to get your hands on and it does bear some resemblance to the taste of real cider. Or there's St. Omer panachés, which are kind of like shandy? They do taste kind of like french beer mixed with lemonade and are also really low alcohol so you can have more than one if you really feel like pushing the boat out ;)

Either those. Or cake!

[nymphadora]

Appletiser with quarter of lime & loads of fresh mint is my current favourite. I don't drink much alcohol normally and am currently craving champage

[CluckyKate]

The odd glass now and then won't do any harm (will it???) - tbh I never wanted more than a small glass when I was pregnant with DD.

Becks alcohol-free beer is also pretty good - best of the beers I've found.

Hope that helps

[nymphadora]

I'm v much of the no alcohol after working with children with foetal alcohol syndrome.

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Oh so do you avoid mobile phones, microwaves, hair dye, make up, e numbers and traffic fumes as well then?

[goodlifemummy]

I don't try and find a substitue for wine, surely nothing can replace it??! I do love Elderflower Cordial (by Bottle Green) with soda water. Slightly better for you than diet coke, which I am trying to wean myself off - too much aspartame!!

[twolittlemonkeys]

I love the Kopparberg alcohol-free cider (have bought it from Morrisons in the past) Also agree with the elderflower cordial with sparkling water. We tend to buy Shloer or Appletiser/Peartiser or Ame for special occasions (DH and I don't drink) I quite like Malzbier (malt beer) which you can sometimes get in the ethnic food section of the supermarket, some brands taste great, others are a bit mediocre but make sure you drink it very cold otherwise it's horrible. HTH.

[nymphadora]

No to mobile that's my main worry!Don't use hairdye and avoid e numbers as they affect me.

Wasn't trying to be judgmental it's just a bit scary going through training and stuff when ttc as it very close to your own situation. Have friends who drank heavily and all ok although one accquantance did a lot more than most would consider normsl' when not pg and ended up with a very prem baby with high needs and that worried me ( as it did a lot of others) I won't criticise for odd glasses as it your own decision and I did with both my others. As I said before I font drink much anyway and that's due to living with my xh who became alcoholic.

[vmcd28]

Thanks, everyone, what great ideas. I didn't know there was an alcohol free kopparberg - I'll keep an eye out for it.
After two miscarriages, I'm still nervous to have even the odd glass of wine yet, and at the moment I think I'd feel guilty/worried if I do in the future. With ds1, I was more relaxed, but I know too much now!

[porcamiseria]

G&T? Pimms?

[fragola]

My favourite booze substitute was tonic, ice and a slice of lime. I became quite good at imagining that there was gin in it.

[DuelingFanjo]

ikea sell the alcohol free cider.

[MmeTrueBlueberry]

Tonic water can be quite satisfying.

A virgin mary (tomato juice with lashings of worcester sauce) was something I had in pregnancy.

Lime cordial.

[LittleMissSnowShine]

nymphadora - sorry, i was being a bitch! i also work in a family support role and i know alcohol can have a pretty drastic effect on unborn babies and on families in general when it's abused. i'm just in the final trimester, high hormone levels, everything makes me very testy phase... apologies

Just thought of another booze free solution for you as well vmcd28 - sainsburys sell a mojito cooler drink - it's just a kind of mint and lime fruit juice that you can spike with rum if you're drinking or just drink over crushed ice on it's own or with soda water if you're off the booze. yum. you can pick it up in the chilled section beside all the other fruit juices

[Luisa82]

I like ginger beer and lime as a refreshing alcohol free drink.

x x

[nymphadora]

Littlemiss it's ok I didnt take it that badly. I'm a FSW too.

[Havingkittens]

My auntie decided to give up drinking last year and drinks 'de-alcoholised' wine that she buys from a website called lono.com (as in low/no alcohol). The red she had the other night was pretty nice actually, not a bad substitute at all. If you look on the site it is the one called Ariel Rouge. It is actually wine, made in exactly the same way but with the alcohol taken out afterwards - which is why it costs the same sort of amount as a mid range bottle of wine. I'venot been so impressed with the whites but she seems to like them so maybe some of you will too.

I do find it a shame that they don't sell non-alcoholic beer in pubs. All over Europe people drink non-alcoholic beer as a matter of course and nobody even looks at you funny for doing it! It would be very helpful in fooling your friends during those early weeks too. The Becks Blue is pretty passable (one of my friends drank a bottle of mine unwittingly when they had run out of theirs and didn't even notice until my OH told him - although, granted, he was quite pissed by that stage), as is 'Bavaria' which they sell in Waitrose which despite the name, is actually from Holland.

I have been ordering ginger beer in pubs, although you have to be careful now because of this new 'Crabbies' beer, which sounds lovely - a beer with ginger in it, rather than ginger beer. But it is beer, 4% alcohol. Last time I ordered ginger beer that's what I was presented with so I had to reluctantly send it back.

[beanlet]

Oh yes, tonic water with ice and lime -- it's pretty easy to convince yourself it's got gin in it! I also second elderflower cordial and fizzy water. I don't drink beer, but my DH, who also can't drink alcohol at the moment, reckons that the new generation of German non-alcoholic beers taste just like the real thing. All the pubs in our town seem to put on at least one non-alcoholic beer, and we buy them with our home delivery from Waitrose.

I have found no decent substitutes for wine, unfortunately though thanks for the tip Kittens, I'm definitely looking that up. You could have the occasional white-wine spritzer if you're feeling brave? Personally I've been having half a small glass of wine about once a week to keep me sane I can't imagine that much would do much harm.

[ilovemydogandMrObama]

cherry juice and fizz water....

[littleyellowchicken]

J20 - kiwi and grape flavour looks OK in a wine glass and tastes good

[richteabiscuit]

I've been necking Appletize like there's no tomorrow - and it helps with the nausea!

[lucybrad]

sorry - but there is no sustitute for wine -